this is bbc news. the headlines at 7. prayers in the street in sri lanka as church services are cancelled — a week after more than 250 people were killed in the easter sunday bombings. more prominent health warnings on packets of opioid painkillers — due to growing concern over levels of addiction. the uk's shale gas commissioner resigns after only six months in thejob — blaming ministers for paying too much attention to the environmental lobby. from within you cannot really do much, but when you have government in such paralysis, you have to do something like this to make yourself heard. nicola sturgeon says no westminster government can ever stand in the way of scotland choosing indpendence. i'm setting out today our strategy to win our country's independence. spain goes to the polls —

their third election in four years — with a party from the far right among the main contenders, for the first time since the franco era. and manchester city stand just two wins away from retaining their premier league title after they beat burnley 1—0. kipchoge is the champion again! kenya's eliud kipchoge wins the london marathon with the second fastest time in history as britain's sir mo farah finishes fifth. and as the tens of thousands raise millions for charities — time seems to stand still for big ben as he tries to cross the finishing line.

good evening. welcome to bbc news. the people of sri lanka have been marking a week since the bomb attacks, which claimed the lives of at least 250 people on easter sunday. the attackers were islamist extremists, who targeted christian worshippers in church services, as well as people in some of colombo‘s biggest hotels. there were very few church services held today, as a precaution, but a nationwide service was televised. clive myrie joins us now from colombo. a very interesting development in the last couple of hours from the president's office with the announcement that the covering of the face to avoid identification of a person will be banned from tomorrow. we are taking that to mean the full face veil will be outlawed from monday. muslim women who wear that attire will feel it is an attack on them, their religion and culture, but the president's office have said under emergency powers it is important to do this for the

security of the country. but today really has been about remembering the dead, remembering those victims of the easter sunday attacks, seven days on. seven days ago, the devout gathered at saint anthony cross church to mark the resurrection of christ. today, they gathered again. but this time with the army and police, a security cordon and a sense of fear, because the sounds of screams filled the church at 8:45am last sunday morning. at 8:45am today bells tolled for the dead. the bombers may have killed and maimed but they haven't

diminished the devotion of worshippers to venerate their god, even here on the streets. here they espouse a kind humanity, the very notion dismissed by the bombers. but some have had a crisis of faith. lighting a candle for his own family, this man had just left the church with two of his sons when the suicide bombers struck. his wife, another son and a baby daughter were still inside. translation: i believed in god. but some in my family have no life. i pray to god he will heal me. i pray to god he will heal them. his four—month—old daughter, her tiny body badly burned. her mother and older brother are in intensive care. three reasons perhaps to lose faith.

in all, 19 children ended up at this hospital after the bombings. others died. this child is five years old. her brother and grandmother are dead at the hands of one of the suicide bombers. her throat badly scarred by the blast will recover, but how scarred is her mind? today we were allowed inside the still damaged saint anthony's church, many of the sri lankan navy trying to clean away of violence to restore this house of god. they reckon it will be a month or maybe two before this place is handed back to the people for worship. what happens here is destined to be passed down the ages along with all the other acts of religious intolerance. that blacken history.

this country will move on. like others darkened by fanatics. and the fervent hope is the trauma of one week ago will unite sri lanka rather than divide it. it isn't just it isn'tjust churches that have been affected. friday prayers were affected because mosques were only open for a limited time during the day. the hope is that services both religions will return sometime in the coming week. the prime minister today said he believes the country is back to normal, although actually we are still under curfew here in colombo and all of the other big cities, and the emergency powers that were put in place last week are clearly still in place because those we re clearly still in place because those were the law is the president used in order to announce his decision to ban full face veils. meanwhile, the investigation into last sunday's attacks continue seven days on. we now know, it has been confirmed, that two of the people who died in police and security forces raided in

the east of the country yesterday where the father and two brothers of the man who is deemed to have been the man who is deemed to have been the mastermind behind the plot. —— in the east of the country on friday. back to you. studio: thanks. there will be much more prominent health warnings on packets of opioid painkillers such as morphine, codeine, and fentanyl because of growing concern over levels of addiction. official figures in england and wales reveal a 60% increase in prescriptions for opioid painkillers in the past decade as our correspondent katherine da costa reports. doctors say opioids should be used for short—term pain relief following an operation or for end—of—life care, but not

to manage long—term chronic pain, because they can be highly addictive and even fatal. lisa from south london was hooked on a cocktail of prescription painkillers for nearly three years after a road accident left her with chronic neck pain. my sleep was affected, my internal systems were affected, my bowels, my mood, my mental health. it was quite tough going. if i had known how addictive they were and the effects they would have on my body and ultimately my life, i would have sought from the doctor different ways to handle that pain management. in the last decade, opioid descriptions in england and wales have increased by more than 60% from over 14 million in 2008 to 23 million, while the number of codeine—related deaths has more than doubled. health secretary matt hancock says clearer labelling is needed to ensure people are fully aware of the risks. that could mean bold and graphic cigarette style warnings on packaging. when patients come to see us and they are in pain, they need help and we want to help them. we need things that do not involve a prescription. we need early access to physiotherapy and early access to good quality pain clinics.

lisa hopes the changes will help others avoid the misery she has experienced as a result of her addiction to painkillers. katherine da costa, bbc news. police say they're investigating how an image, said to be of the body of the footballer emiliano sala, was posted online. the picture is thought to have been taken at a mortuary in bournemouth, after sala's body was recovered from a light aircraft, which had crashed in the english channel injanuary. polls have just closed in spain's third general election in four years. the exit polls have just come out. we can speak to my colleague tim wilcox who is waiting with the results we have so far. what are they saying? the figures arejust they saying? the figures are just coming out now. it seems no party, as we predicted, would get a clear majority, but the socialists under pedro sanchez seem

to have done pretty well. the seats which have come to them according to the exit polls, are between 116 and 121. for the partido popular, traditionally the voice of the right under the 2—party system, 69 to 73. they have attacked further to the right. another far right party, predicted to have 38 to 49. the party that pedro sanchez will no doubt want to go into coalition with, have up to 35. everybody has been concentrated on the exit polls for vox, this hard right party, predicted to get between 36 and 38 seats in the congress of deputies behind me, which would be the first time that a hard right party has representation in the congress of deputies hear it for the first time,

really, since the death of franco, the dictator in 1975. we can speak to anna fuentes who is an opinion writer for el pais. these are not absolutes. but it is fair to say that the socialist to have done better, perhaps? they seem happy. their headquarters, it seems it is packed, lots of international media, they are preparing speeches. whereas in the partido popular‘s headquarters, it is gloomy, they do not know if they have lost to the right and vox have taken part of the votes. 2.4 million spaniards decided 01’ votes. 2.4 million spaniards decided or said they decided they would vote today. so volatility might be very high. if the socialists have between 116 and 121, the magic numberfor this building is 176. they could, with the help of the basques and

maybe podemos, they could get over the line? indeed. we will see if they sit down with the nationalist basque party. because they are moderate. they have a better narrative for the right, too, here in madrid. we will see how this agreement era starts. and that could be weeks or months, couldn't it?l very interesting time for spain, yes. as always. what does that mean if these results are accurate, what does that mean for how far spain has changed? does that mean for how far spain has changed ? has does that mean for how far spain has changed? has it looked over the a byss changed? has it looked over the abyss and pulled back? there were fears in spain that perhaps this ha rd fears in spain that perhaps this hard right party would be actually representing a rather strong theme within spanish society. yes, the socialist party was very scared. also, they have this catalonia problem. they wanted the dialogue.

but the right, which is fragmented for the first time in its history, was pushing very strongly for going back to madrid to give madrid more power, this narrative. the socialists were struggling between two lines. now we will see. the economy hasn't been playing out, really. the key issue is catalonia for this election. anna, for now, thank you. those are the initial exit polls. a better night for the socialists than had been predicted. but even so, vox, if they have between 31 and 35 seats, that a significant development for this country. the first time, as i say, a ha rd country. the first time, as i say, a hard right party has got representation here since the death of franco. we are expecting speeches from the political leaders over the next few hours. we will keep you updated. studio: thanks. the uk's shale gas commissioner has resigned after only six months in thejob,

saying the government is paying too much attention to a small but noisy environmental lobby — and consequently there is a ‘de facto' ban on fracking. natascha engel was tasked with uniting communities over the controversial process, but says stringent rules are stopping the industry from being successful, as john mcmanus reports. is this a vision of the uk's future energy market? hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in this case at a site in lancashire. well, maybe not, because despite government support for shale gas exploration, the woman in charge of inspiring confidence in the project has just quit. certainly, since i first started six months ago, there was always an understanding that fracking was going to really struggle to develop if these really ridiculously low limits on earth tremors were going to be kept in place. the understanding was always that they would be reviewed and be raised when it was safe to do so, and that's not happening. it means there is a sort of restriction placed on fracking that's not placed on any other

extractive industry in the country. retrieving gas through fracking involves pumping water, sand and chemicals at high pressure into shale rock. when that rock fractures, the gas is released and brought to the surface. the industry says it is safe, but it can cause earth tremors. to reassure local communities, fracking must pause if those tremors reach a magnitude of 0.5. this site has had to stop work several times. natascha engel says that rule amounts to a de facto ban. those campaigners aren't just worried about tremors, they say climate—changing fossil fuels should stay underground. in scotland, fracking remains under a moratorium. holyrood still has not decided how to proceed. supporters in the usa say fracking there has lowered gas bills, but some states have still banned it. the government here maintains that shale gas is both environmentally and consumer friendly. now it needs to find somebody new to make that case. john mcmanus, bbc news.

the headlines on bbc news... prayers have been held in the streets in sri lanka as church services are cancelled — a week after more than 250 people were killed in the easter sunday bombings. there's to be more prominent health warnings on packets of opioid painkillers because of growing concern over levels of addiction. britain's fracking tsar quits after six months in thejob. natascha engel says ministers are paying too much attention to a small but noisy environmental lobby. the united nations says many villages in northern mozambique have been entirely wiped out by cyclone kenneth, which hit on thursday. with heavy rainfall predicted for the next few days, there are also fears that many communities will face severe flooding. mozambique is still recovering from cyclone id—eye, which killed hundreds of people further south last month. donna larsen reports.

—— cyclone idai. where families once lived now standing as shells, corrugated iron roofs contorted by the wind, littering the ground. these homes were ripped apart by the strongest cyclone ever to hit this region. jamal‘s shop was just one of so many ravaged by the storm. translation: the wind destroyed the farms and the palm trees. the farms don't have anything, we lost everything. here in the village, as you see, 300 houses have been destroyed. the view from above provides some idea of the scale of destruction, villages completely flattened. the united nations has described the damage as heartbreaking. these villages have been entirely wiped out. they look like they have been run over by a bulldozer.

people are asking first for shelter then they need water purification and they need food. almost 20,000 people are now living in makeshift displacement centres, set up in schools and churches. more heavy rain is forecast for mozambique over the coming days and with rivers already swollen, the threat of severe flooding continues to loom large. people here now face the daunting reality that the worst could be yet to come. donna larsen, bbc news. one area that has been badly affected is in the north of the country, called pemba. we can now speak to a united nations worker. we are hearing from other aid agencies they are having difficulty reaching people in need. are you also experiencing this? it has been

nonstop since last night. very heavy rain. it has made it very difficult to reach some communities. we are very concerned about how we can bring food to these people who need it. this is a very complex operation for us, because we will bring helicopters, and we will try to do everything we can to bring the food to these people. how is the weather affecting the work you are trying to do? it is making everything more challenging. because it keeps raining. the roads are impassable. one of the key bridges has collapsed. it's making it very difficult for us to access the areas where people need to help direly. what is your estimate of how many people are in need? so far we know 700,000 people,

according to the government, are at risk. at least 1000 people have been displaced so far. we expect that this number will keep growing, while it keeps raining, minute after minute, we can see that the level of water is rising. how much more difficult is this situation to deal with, because part of the country are still recovering from the other cyclone, idai? the capacities are very stretched, from aid agencies and the government. we are going to bring helicopters to pemba to ensure that we will be able to reach the communities stranded on the islands. but also in areas that are com pletely but also in areas that are completely flooded, so our capacities are quite stretched now. we are calling for the international community to help us to give us more funding to make sure these people

get the help that they need. how much practical help are the neighbours to mozambique offering? so far neighbouring countries, such as south africa, has sent search and rescue teams. we see a lot of solidarity from different countries coming in, which is a really good thing to see. but we are still in need of funding to make sure that we can buy food and provide logistics capacities to all of the humanitarian community is. it is difficult to access the stranded areas. we arejust areas. we are just looking at some of the photographs that you have sent to us which show the scale of the problem you are dealing with, and the amount

of water which still hasn't subsided. how much more funding do you need? subsided. how much more funding do you need ? are subsided. how much more funding do you need? are you having difficulty getting donors to contribute? we have a lot of donors who have provided funding for the cyclone idai tragedy. we still need $127 million for that emergency response. and they need will still keep growing as we have more humanitarian needs to respond to with this new emergency. deborah, thank you for talking to us. thank you. scotland's first minister and leader of the snp nicola sturgeon is launching what she's called the biggest campaign on the economics of independence in her party's history. it will involve sending a leaflet to every household in the country making the case. ms sturgeon told the party's spring conference that the past three years had shown beyond any doubt, that the westminster system was broken, as our

scotland editor sarah smith reports from edinburgh. she came to tell them what they've all been so eagerly waiting to hear, that she is ready for another scottish referendum. the party has now got a new economic policy they think could win them independence, so the campaign starts now. we must have the choice of a better future. scotland must have the choice of an independent future. she and her party are buoyed by polls suggesting voters are moving their way. support for independence is already up. ourjob now is to get support for independence surging and make sure that no westminster government can ever stand in the way of scotland's right to choose. before anyone can choose, the uk government has to agree to holding a referendum. nicola sturgeon set out

what the real challenge now is. she has to demonstrate there is a real desire for another independence vote if she is to try and force the westminster government to allow one. all the troops are ready. the country is ready. climate change, brexit nonsense has gone on far too long. do you really think there will be a referendum in the next couple of years? i believe so. nicola sturgeon has set out in her plan. the party are getting ready with plans to deliver a brochure on independence to every household in scotland this summer. but they can't say for sure when any vote might be. sarah smith, bbc news, edinburgh. scotla nd scotland yard detectives investigating the abduction and rape have arrested a man. the 33—year—old was arrested today on suspicion of conspiracy to rape. the metropolitan police said the hunt for the rapist continues and the force released cctv images of a man at a hotel in

the watford area on tuesday. the first woman was abducted from chingford on thursday, and the second around 12 hours later from a street in edgware. the man escaped after a struggle in osborne road in watford at around 2:30pm the same day. gatwick has had disruption after flights were diverted, reportedly due to drone activity. the airport says it had been investigating unconfirmed reports of sightings of drones in the area. and three flights were diverted earlier today. managers say the airport is now fully operational and back to normal. apparent drone sightings over christmas caused travel chaos. sir mo farah could only manage fifth in the london marathon... if only, hey? unable to keep the pace set by world—record holder eliud kipchoge. the kenyan reeled off the second fastest marathon time in history to win it for a record fourth time. our correspondent

joe wilson was there. when the camera was looking for the elite group kipchoge was in front. mo farah was toughing it out behind. he beamed across the line in the quickest time london had ever witnessed. mo farah said he had no regrets about his comments in the build—up, but finishing fifth was not the plan. kosgei made her victory looked easy. daniel romanchuk won the men's para marathon. the finishing line is still too low. hang on, stop the clock... joe wilson, bbc news, central london.

avengers: endgame, the latest hollywood blockbuster from marvel studios, has become the first film to gross more than $1 billion at the box office in its first week. disney says the superhero movie starring robert downeer and scarlettjohansson has taken $1.2 billion worldwide since its release on wednesday, with a record—breaking gross of $350 million in the united states and canada. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben. we said farewell to storm hannah. it wasn't sunny everywhere, western areas had lots of cloud and patchy rain courtesy of a slow—moving weather front which remains slow—moving tonight. patchy cloud and rainforfarwest slow—moving tonight. patchy cloud and rain for far west areas of the country. a chilly night, even a touch of frost for northern england and eastern scotland and dense fog patches. some could be slow to

clear. but they should as we go through the morning. for many tomorrow, a fine day with spells of sunshine, the best of that across scotla nd sunshine, the best of that across scotland with temperatures in the north—west highlands getting up to, possibly, 22 degrees. always cool in the west. the far south—west of england and wales still plagued by that slow—moving weather front. but it'll make progress eastwards in the middle part of the week, bringing some rain, and as it clears through it will much cooler. —— it'll turn much cooler.

hello this is bbc news with martine croxall. the headlines. prayers have been held in the streets in sri lanka as church services are cancelled — a week after more than 250 people were killed in the easter sunday bombings. there's to be more prominent health warnings on packets of opioid painkillers because of growing concern over levels of addiction. britain's fracking tsar quits after six months in thejob. natascha engel says ministers are paying too much attention to a small but noisy environmental lobby. nicola sturgeon says no westminster government can ever stand in the way of scotland choosing indpendence. exit polls released in spain suggest the governing socialist party have won the most seats in the general election there, but would be without

an overall majority. now on bbc news it's time for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm jane dougall. manchester city go back to the top of the premier league after edging out burnley at turf moor. disappointment for chelsea women as they miss out on a place in the champions league final. but celebrations in sheffield as united are promoted to the top flight. also coming up in the programme, it's another mercedes one—two in azerbaijan. and find out what stopped this brave marathon runner